The Air Force of Zimbabwe (AFZ) has finished building a house for the Fenyere family in Goromonzi to compensate them after an air crash involving an AB 412 Helicopter claimed the lives of one of their twin children, aircrew and destroyed the house.
The other twin and the mother were hospitalised with life-threatening burns.
Defence and War Veterans Affairs Minister Oppah Muchinguri-Kashiri, accompanied by the Commander Air Force of Zimbabwe Air Marshal Elson Moyo and senior officers from the ZDF, handed a new house to the Fenyere family.
The Herald reports that the house was handed over to Mr Fenyere and his family in Goromonzi yesterday. Minister Muchinguri-Kashiri said:
This tragedy happened when no one least expected. It left the Fenyere family almost stranded. We as the Ministry of Defence and War Veterans Affairs and the Zimbabwe Defence Forces were shocked by the tragedy, to say the least.
I vividly recall the sombre atmosphere when I came here, a day after the accident in order to pay our condolences and comfort the Fenyere family.
I spoke at length with the family and pledged on behalf of the ministry to support and stand with the family. Thereafter, the Air Force of Zimbabwe mobilised items that would cushion the family on their day-to-day living. But these items were never going to count for anything without the family having their damaged shelter restored.
It was then that my ministry made a commitment to construct a house for the Fenyere family. Immediately after authority was granted, the Air Force of Zimbabwe dispatched a group of construction experts to ascertain the work that was to be done. Their feedback highlighted that the cost of repairing the house was comparable to constructing a new one.
On the other hand, Mr Fenyere, who had been constantly in touch with our Air Force chaplain who was handling the family’s post-bereavement issues, requested for a new house to be built instead of having the damaged one repaired. His reasons were quite understandable especially considering the trauma the family had gone through.
The minister added that the design for the house was done by the Air Force drawing team. The house has tiled floors, ceiling, plastered walls, modern tubs and ceramic cisterns, some skating around the building, a solar geyser, a new septic tank and soak away, security lights and a painted roof. The house still has its 10 rooms, of which one is self-contained, two linking and the rest separate.